Handover connectivity and privacy for communication systems

Abstract

Control devices for network control and privacy protection are described. For network control, processing circuitry can exchange information with at least one other device to determine which device should communicate to a peripheral device. The processing circuitry can pass a token to the at least one other device in response to detecting the at least one other device should communicate to the peripheral device, and refrain from further transmissions after passing the token. In privacy control, users can be notified before audio is played on a new or different peripheral device.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A control device comprising:
 an interface configured to wirelessly receive and transmit a communication signal; and   processing circuitry coupled to the interface, the processing circuitry configured to:
 exchange information with at least one other device to determine which device should communicate to a peripheral device; 
 pass a token to the at least one other device in response to detecting the at least one other device should communicate to the peripheral device; and 
 refrain from further transmissions to the peripheral device upon passing the token. 
   
     
     
         2 . The control device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one other device comprises a second control device, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to exchange synchronization signals to synchronize to at least one other device. 
     
     
         3 . The control device of  claim 2 , wherein the information indicates signal strength to the peripheral device. 
     
     
         4 . The control device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to continue receiving signals form the peripheral device subsequent to passing the token. 
     
     
         5 . The control device of  claim 2 , wherein determining which device should communicate to the peripheral device is based on a signal strength of communications with the peripheral device. 
     
     
         6 . The control device of  claim 2 , wherein determining which device should communicate to the peripheral device is based on a usage mode of the peripheral device. 
     
     
         7 . The control device of  claim 2 , wherein both the control device and the at least one other device concurrently decode communications from the peripheral device, and wherein determining which device should communicate to the peripheral device is based on an interpreted command from the peripheral device. 
     
     
         8 . The control device of  claim 1 , wherein the communication signal is in accordance with a Bluetooth standard. 
     
     
         9 . A control device comprising:
 communication circuitry configured to communicate to at least two peripheral devices, and   processing circuitry coupled to the communication circuitry and configured to:
 control communications with a first device of the at least two peripheral devices; and 
 upon detecting that the first device has become disconnected, request user authorization to connect to a second of the at least two peripheral devices. 
   
     
     
         10 . The control device of  claim 9 , further comprising a memory and wherein authorization is stored to memory each time a new peripheral device is connected to the control device. 
     
     
         11 . The control device of  claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to store user profiles for a plurality of users. 
     
     
         12 . The control device of  claim 10 , wherein a user is prompted to set priority levels for the at least two peripheral devices. 
     
     
         13 . The control device of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to an authorization request to a user interface. 
     
     
         14 . The control device of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform a biometric check of a user as a part of requesting user authentication. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed on processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:
 communicating to at least two peripheral devices;   controlling communications with a first device of the at least two peripheral devices; and   upon detecting that the first device has become disconnected, requesting user authorization to connect to a second of the at least two peripheral devices.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein authorization is stored to memory each time a new peripheral device is connected to the control device. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise storing user profiles for a plurality of users. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein a user is prompted to set priority levels for the at least two peripheral devices. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise providing an authorization request to a user interface. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise performing a biometric check of a user as a part of requesting user authentication.